Sustainable Travel Isn't Too Much to Ask

At the World Travel & Tourism Council’s (WTTC) Global Summit in Bangkok, president and CEO opened his address with, “Is it too much ask?”

What was Scowsill getting at?

He is calling for the travel and tourism industry to devote more of an effort to creating a sustainable world. During his address at the summit, he urged the more than 900 attendees from both the private and public sector to “stand up and make a real difference” and to think about “transforming our world.”

His claim that travel and tourism can do more as an industry is backed up by the numbers. As an economic driver, the industry has a significant impact: Travel and tourism generate more than $7.6 trillion globally and supports more than 292 million jobs—that is 1 in 10 jobs worldwide.

Business and leisure travel hold a lot of sway in the world and have the opportunity to help shape the global agenda over the next 15 years.

“We are now seeing the recalibration of global politics, it is becoming clearer that the economic growth we have enjoyed over the past half century, and the globalization that has driven it, is not working for everyone. Governments are calling into question some of the basic freedoms of people movement and trade, upon which all our businesses so depend”, Scowsill said.

In order to spur the industry to think on a sustainable level, the WTTC has launched the “Is It Too Much To Ask?” campaign. On its website, TooMuchToAsk.org, there are 10 pledges people and organizations can take to further move towards more sustainable travel. A counter on the right-hand side of the screen tracks your pledges to the environment.

One pledge says, “I pledge to demand to see the environmental and social policies of the companies with which I book my travels."

Another pledge states: “I pledge to read up on and understand the local culture in the destination I am traveling to, and promise to respect my hosts, their way of life, and their way of dress by packing appropriately.”

If visitors want, they can click for more information about each pledge and find background information on why it's important, along with actions people can take to make a difference.

Hopefully, this will prove to be a good resource for travelers, many of whom are looking for just this sort of resource to help them learn about and make the right decisions when it comes to sustainable travel. According to AIG Travel’s Pulse Poll from last summer, a majority of respondents (52 percent) said it was important to travel sustainably. However, more than one-third said that it was difficult to do so while half said they didn’t know how to travel sustainably.

If education is what is needed, the new WTTC is taking a step in the right direction with its new campaign.

“This sector plays a vital part in the global quest for a more equal, inclusive and sustainable world,” said Scowsill. “For our sector to continue to thrive we must focus on three elements; people need to be able to travel; we need successful businesses; and we need responsible practices.”

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